Steve @ OutdoorFrontiers wrote:



I been a fishing guide and custom rod builder for over 12 years now. Here's
my suggestion.

Get your son a St. Croix Premier spinning rod, 6 - 61/2 feet in length,
medium power, fast action. Couple that with a Shimano Sahara 2500 spinning
reel and have it correctly spooled with 15 pound PowerPro. This will be a
good combination that will serve him for years without breaking the bank.

Don't get hung up on the number of ball bearings. I've seen 10 ball bearing
reels that were real junk!

I agree 100% I have that combo, Just got it, along with a couple of 9
1/2 foot steel head rods from St. Croix, the rods are awesome, and that
Sahara 2500 reel is as smooth as any of my 6 and 8 ball bearing reels,
for a lot less money, (mine was somewhere around 60 dollars at Academy
Sports) it's the perfect size for me, holding 200 yds of 6 lb test, the
drag has already handled some huge fish, and long fights, it's a smooth
running drag, with a good constant resistance. My 2000 reels have been
spooled a couple of times by big fish, so far the 2500 has held enough
line, and it's not much bigger than the 2000's, and does not weigh much
more.


--
Rodney Long,
Inventor of the Mojo SpecTastic "WIGGLE" rig, SpecTastic Thread,
Boomerang Fishing Pro. ,Stand Out Hooks ,Stand Out Lures,
Mojo's Rock Hopper & Rig Saver weights, and the EZKnot
http://www.ezknot.com